Foolish Wives 1922

Foolish Wives

1922 · United States · Directed by Erich von Stroheim, Gustav Machatý · 77 min

TenseStrange Approachable · Moderate Drama

A fraudulent aristocrat in Monte Carlo targets wealthy women while his accomplices maintain the appearance of status around him.

What to expect

Von Stroheim treats luxury as evidence: uniforms, rooms, money, and social ritual reveal a world built on performance and appetite. The surviving release remains a forceful fragment of a much larger design.

How to ease in

Begin with the con rather than the production history. Once the false count’s method is clear, the elaborate setting becomes part of how credibility is manufactured.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes attempted sexual assault, exploitation, fraud, fire, suicide, disability stereotypes, and sexualised power imbalances.
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A fraudulent aristocrat in Monte Carlo targets wealthy women while his accomplices maintain the appearance of status around him.

The count needs everyone to recognise the costume before they examine the man inside it. I watch the surroundings do half of his lying for him.

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The count needs everyone to recognise the costume before they examine the man inside it. I watch the surroundings do half of his lying for him.

— Momo

Momo with notes about this film

Credits & versions

Version map

BFI 77-minute presentation77 min77 minutes is attached only to the named BFI 77-minute presentation. No unsupported cut, score, territory, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred.Runtime reference · Checked 2026-08-21

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